Well, for the last 5 days pneumonia has been ruling my life. And it's ruled with an iron fist. Have you ever had it? First timer right here. And it's been pretty bad. I started feeling bad on Sunday afternoon. I was really, really tired. But it went beyond just being physically overworked. It was taking real effort to move. I've had that feeling before and it's always come just before my body succumbs to some illness that robs me of me for a while. Since this icky feeling wasn't new to me, I was willing to bet something was about to hit. I just didn't know it was gonna be a sucker punch to the gut--or in this case, to the chest.
On Monday morning, I was supposed to take the kids to a MOPS play date at a local pumpkin farm. We were supposed to be there at 9am--early for those of us with 3 kids under the age of 5. After a very fitful night's sleep, I tried to get out of bed that morning and each limb of body felt like it weighed 2 tons and my entire lower body ached. I managed to drag myself into the shower and actually put a little make up on. But I couldn't overcome the weakness that I felt. I went upstairs to get the kids out of bed and each step up those stairs was brutal. I had to hold on to the rail as if I was an elderly woman. My legs hurt as if I was running a 5K, not climbing a simple flight of stairs (yes, for ME running a 5K invokes pain. Stop laughing). And by the time I got to the top of the stairs, my body felt like Jell-O--all wobbly and unsteady. But I managed to get everyone downstairs without passing out even thought I felt like I was going to.
My next thought was that eating breakfast would be the solution and give me that much-needed energy boost. Luckily Vincent had the day off from work it being Columbus Day and all (thank you, banker's holidays). He was helping feed the kids breakfast while I trudged around the kitchen, my fuzzy slippers scratching across the tile floor because I couldn't muster up the energy to actually pick up my feet. I made my customary breakfast of a protein shake and drank that down quickly hoping I'd instantly perk up. Nope. I was just as drained. At that point, the thought of having to dig down deep and somehow find the energy to load the kids into the car, much less chase them around a farm for a couple of hours, was just too much. The weakness was so debilitating, I swear I could literally hear my body tell me I AM NOT DOING THAT TODAY SO JUST FORGET IT! So I bailed on the play date and immediately went back to bed. I slept for a couple of hours. I woke up feeling just as exhausted. I knew something bad was happening. I took my temperature and sure enough, I had a fever. My first thought was THE FLU! EEEK! The dreaded flu! I figured that's all it could be since my only symptoms were fatigue, fever and muscle aches...well, and an occasional cough here and there but I just kind of blew that off. And I was kicking myself for having not already gotten my annual flu shot. Knowing I was going to need Tamiflu, stat, I made an appointment at one of those out-patient treatment centers, AKA "Doc-in-the-box" or as we used to call the on-campus clinic at Baylor back in the day, "The Quack Shack", since it was after hours and my doctor's office was already closed.
Since I had already self-diagnosed in my mind, I had The Quack Shack test me for the flu. Negative. What the ??? Then what else could it be?? I had joked around earlier that day that I probably had West Nile. Would I be sorry for that now?? Had I jinxed myself??? The doctor suggested I do blood work and take a chest X ray since I had mentioned my cough to him--as an afterthought, of course. I reluctantly agreed thinking this was going to be a waste of my precious time. So I got zapped and pricked. And I waited.
Diagnosis: PNEUMONIA.
What?! I was barely coughing! Aren't you supposed to hack your lungs out with that illness? But the doctor explained there were some spots on my lungs in the Xray and the results of my blood work suggested a bacterial infection but that we had probably caught it early. Nice. So two antibiotic prescriptions later I'm home in bed feeling like...well, someone who had pneumonia, which is to say really crappy. But still not really coughing. Well that changed in less than 24 hours. By the next morning I had all the typical symptoms: fatigue, chest tightness, fever and COUGH. I felt awful! Now luckily for me, my prince-of-a-husband stayed home to take care of the kids while I hacked and coughed and moaned and groaned. No, I'm not a very good patient. And despite that fact which is no doubt unpleasant for him, he stayed home yesterday as well! What a good man!
So that's been my life for the last 5 days. I'm fever free today for the first time since Monday. Maybe I'm starting to turn a corner now. I hope. And while I had it bad, I haven't had it as bad as some and thank God I never had to go to the hospital as I understand some do when it gets out of control. I still feel pretty tired and achy today but I went ahead and sent Vincent on to work. I think he was going crazy here with our 3 ring circus.
Needless to say I haven't felt much like blogging, writing, reading, meditating--basically I haven't felt like participating in life this week. I mean, you know you're in a bad way when washing your hair is the biggest feat you accomplish in a day. But having the down time gave me a chance to think about some of the things I eventually do want to write about on my blog. So I got out a notebook and started to jot down ideas and flesh them out a bit. We'll see what comes out of it.
